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Sat Nov 23, 2019 5:42 am
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The Indiana Pacers struck first in their Eastern Conference Finals series with the Miami Heat and theyll go for a commanding lead tonight when the two sides meet for Game 2 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Kevin Garnett Jersey . Watch the action unfold live on TSN and TSN GO at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. The Pacers took Game 1, 107-96, Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis in a rematch of last years East Finals. The Pacers made six of their first seven shots from beyond the arc and shot 59.5 percent in the first half en route to a 55-45 cushion at the break. Indiana built its advantage up to as many as 19 in the third quarter and staved off every Heat push down the stretch in the wire-to-wire win. For the game, Indiana shot 51.5 percent from the floor and 42 percent from long range. "We played a pretty good basketball game. I think we can play better," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said after practice Monday. "I think were going to need to play better because I think Miami is going to come back and play a more complete basketball game so we have to elevate our level." The Heat lost only their second postseason game, but are staring in the face of something unprecedented. Since the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh descended upon South Beach, the Heat have never gone down 0-2 in a series. "We had a couple of breakdowns. In the Eastern Conference Finals, you cant have that many breakdowns," James said after practice. "It wasnt a bad game at all. We scored 97 points, we got 54 points in the paint, we had 23 assists, only 11 turnovers. But we had some breakdowns defensively that allowed them to get some good shots." Paul George led the way for the Pacers with 24 points and seven assists. Indianas entire starting five scored in double figures and it moved to 6-0 this postseason when Roy Hibbert scores 10-or-more points. He finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. David West tallied 19 points and seven boards, Lance Stephenson posted 17 points, eight assists and four rebounds and George Hill added 15 points for the Pacers, who improved to 4-4 at home in the playoffs after going an NBA- best 35-6 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse during the regular season. Wade netted 27 points, while James supplied 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals for Miami. Chris Andersen finished with 14 off the bench and Ray Allen added 12. Indiana raced out to a quick 7-0 start after Hill hit a quick 3-pointer and sunk a pair of free throws before Stephenson nailed a step-back jumper. The Pacers led 30-24 following a quarter of play. It was their first 30-point opening frame since Feb. 27. James cut Indianas gap to 50-45 following a pair of buckets, but the Pacers netted the final five points of the half. The Pacers piled it on in the third. George capped an 8-0 burst with a layup to extend the margin to 69-52 just before the midway point of the stanza. Two Hibbert free throws made it 81-62, but James layup concluded an 8-0 Miami flurry to get the two-time defending champs within 81-70. Wades layup pulled Miami within 83-74 early in the fourth, but the Pacers responded with six straight and the Heat never got the deficit below double digits again. "We played with a great energy," George said. "Thats been an area where we lacked this postseason. Being consistent with our energy and urgency to start games off. I thought we brought that." Indiana finished the season 7-9 and limped through the playoffs, at times looking brilliant, and other times, inconsistent. Miami has looked generally brilliant during the playoffs, and despite never falling down 0-2, this incarnation of the Heat has won all four series in which they lost Game 1. The home team in this matchup is on a nine-game winning streak. Game 3 will be Saturday night in Miami. Kyrie Irving Jersey . Orlov, who scored two goals in the game, was assessed a major penalty for boarding on the play. The Flyers scored once on the power play and again with the extra attacker with 65 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. Danny Ainge Jersey . The Toronto Maple Leafs were holding a news conference, so they got curious. It didnt take long for them to find out via social media that coach Randy Carlyle was coming back — with a two-year extension — and assistants Greg Cronin, Scott Gordon and Dave Farrish were being let go. https://www.cheapceltics.com/682n-gordon-hayward-jersey-celtics.html . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized.PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Lee Stempniak have been playing together for less than two weeks. Funny, they looked like longtime friends during Pittsburghs 5-1 demolition of Dallas on Tuesday night. Quick to the puck and even quicker to the net, the Penguins top line overwhelmed the suddenly struggling Stars as Pittsburgh bounced back from a dismal weekend sweep at the hands of Philadelphia by jumping on Dallas early. Crosby scored his 32nd goal less than 5 minutes in, added his 33rd early in the third period and dished out an assist on Stempniaks first goal with the Penguins to push his point total to an NHL-leading 91. More importantly, Pittsburgh hardly looked like the team humbled by the Flyers during a forgettable home-and-home sweep. "We werent happy with those losses, we have to do better," Crosby said. "We wanted to make sure we went out there and played hard. Its a desperate team were playing and hopefully we can build that same emotion, same intensity we had tonight and carry it over to the rest of the season." Kunitz chipped in his 32nd goal after skipping two games with a leg injury and added an assist. Brandon Sutter pushed in a late short-handed goal and Jeff Zatkoff stopped 32 shots to win for the 11th time in his past 14 games. Tyler Seguin scored his 31st goal for the Stars. Kari Lehtonen made 27 saves, but Dallas slumped again on the road. The Stars have been outscored 12-3 over their past two games to slip out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. "I think you cant blame one guy for any of the goals," Seguin said. "This is a team matter were going to deal with. Its just about execution. Weve been showing glimpses of it lately, but too many breakdowns." A no-no when playing Crosby. The Pittsburgh captain seemed energized by the return of Kunitz. Reunited against a scuffling team trying to make a late run at the post-season, Crosby and Kunitz helped the Metropolitan Division-leading Penguins rebound by playing with the chemistry that makes them one of the most potent one-two combinations in the league. The game was less than 5 minutes old when Crosby put Pittsburgh in front. Fourth-line forward Craig Adams -- finishing out his shift -- dug out a loose puck in the corner and fed it to Crosby darting through the slot. Rajon Rondo Jersey. Crosby deked past Dallas defenceman Sergei Gonchar then held the puck long enough for Lehtonen to commit before slipping the puck into an open net to give the Penguins some welcome momentum. Seguin tied it at 12:30 into the first with a pretty deflection off a Trevor Daley shot from the point, but the game was tied less than three minutes before Kunitz pounced on a rebound off a Stempniak shot to put the Penguins in front to stay. The Penguins acquired Stempniak from Calgary on March 5 hoping the veteran forward could patch the hole on the first line that hasnt really been filled since Pascal Dupuis was lost for the season with a knee injury in December. After a series of near misses in his first six games with Pittsburgh, Stempniak finally broke through 13:21 into the second period. He skated into the zone and dropped the puck to Crosby and sprinted to the net. The puck was on Stempniaks stick again a split second later as Kunitz hit him streaking through the slot. Stempniak knocked it in for his ninth of the season while getting tripped by Dallas Brenden Dillon in the process. "Its been a little while, its nice to get a goal," Stempniak said. "Great passing play from Sid to Chris. I went to the net and it was on my tape ... Sids so dynamic, he opens up a lot. Chris has a great shot. I just try to fit in and skate and keep up." That was more than enough for Zatkoff, who made two glove saves in the second period during Dallas best sustained pressure. Crosby banged in a rebound 1:56 into the third to push Pittsburghs lead to three and the pressure that had built after dispiriting performances against the Flyers -- games in which the Penguins said they were more concerned with the way they played than the actual score -- lifted. NOTES: Pittsburgh is 42-5-4 this season when Crosby collects at least one point. ... Dallas has lost three straight for the first time since a six-game skid from Jan. 2-12. ... The Penguins play at Detroit on Thursday. ... Dallas visits Philadelphia on Thursday. ' ' ' |
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